The photo depicts one of the final days of the Camelot of tobacco shops, my own Sherlock's Haven. To my immediate left is both good friend and my professional consigliere, Steve Brunner. To my immediate right is one of the great tobacco palates, relieving me of the chore of tasting and rating each pipe tobacco and cigar, Johnson Tacalon. And the tall guy behind him was the store Mgr. and current close friend, Jim Walker. We're surrounded by good guys and true.

I wanted to caption this "I knew more about pipes and tobacco when I was 7 than you do now," but my PR dep't. said that would be a bad idea. Looks like old curmudgeons start as young curmudgeons, doesn't it? Years ago, my mother told my then newish wife that when I was a kid, all they had to do to keep me quiet was put a hat on my head, a corn cob in my mouth and shove me in the back seat of the car. My wife replied, "nothing's changed, except he's now in the front seat."

The Mill

Sept. 10, 2019.

Brainwashing Do you think brainwashing is a fascinating topic? We don’t look at it much…seeing it only as an evil device used by nefarious people in order to have innocents do the dirty work. (Have we ben brainwashed into seeing it through that single lens?) We rarely think of it as a fundamental aspect of all of our lives. Quite possibly, without brainwashing, none of us would function well. I’ll try to support that statement below, but because of a strong aversion to research (read “work”) nothing here will be documented, except perhaps by anecdote. The idea of talking about brainwashing came to me because, as almost always, this space begs to be filled, and also as the result of three items recently read. Plus, the hope that you might find it at least mildly interesting.

The first item, and the one that got me thinking about the matter, is the best selling memoir “Educated” by Tara Westover. I think it was mentioned previously. It is a book with pretty powerful punches. Westover was raised in a fundamentalist, survivalist Mormon family in either Idaho or Utah. Her charismatic, but mentally askew father drilled his paranoic, extreme anti-government, extra-strict religious beliefs into his children, including his daughter Tara. By all of our standards, one would think, she was emotionally abused and her big, strong enraged brother kicked the crap out of her, with her father and mother (a true enabler) willfully failing to see what was happening. By almost any standard, she was brainwashed into believing the religious education she was getting, without the benefit of receiving a normal, formal education that might have served as a bit of an antidote to what she was hearing at home. She entered no elementary or high school building, rarely interacting with others of her age. After reading about that fairly obvious brainwashing job (which Tara finally came to understand as such after she drove herself to get a formal, highly regarded education at BYU, Harvard & Cambridge) came a letter to our little daily paper in Palo Alto (my neighboring community). The writer bemoaned the brainwashing that children were getting in our public schools, fearing that the agenda included nothing but communist/socialist propaganda and what was needed to offset this was privatization of the schools so that the kids could get dosed (but not, in his mind, brainwashed) with Capitalism. Apparently the writer, neglecting to note the billionaire entrepreneurs (yours truly, alas, excluded from this club) all around him, believes that we are turning out nothing but a bunch of little Marxs. As this letter appeared shortly after having finished “Educated” my mind was somewhat focused on the brainwashing issue, so a letter to the editor was called for and what it said, besides noting that a public education was likelier to include more diversity in opinion than a private education, thus vitiating the impact of brainwashing, was that the letter-writer need not worry because we are, incontrovertibly, all brainwashed. It is universal and can only rarely be avoided. We are all subject to the constant repetition of the ideas… political, social, religious…of our parents. That is how people are raised and that is the definition of brainwashing. If you’ll note, there is a huge corollary between the religious and political and social beliefs of parents and their children. That is not coincidence, that is the result of brainwashing, well intended or no.Before you come after me with pitchforks, this is not to say that because you were brainwashed in to believing that which you do about so many fundamental issues your religious or political beliefs are not the one True belief. Neither I nor anyone else can know that. Neither can you. Remember, it is a belief, perhaps a faith, but not a fact. Still, it can certainly be the Right One. But you have that belief, or beliefs, because it was deeply ingrained from an early age…probably from birth, the best time to start brainwashing for best results. Don't delude yourself into thinking that the beliefs in which you have been immersed in since your earliest memories are the result of rational thought. Better yet is a quote remembered from a Prof. in grad school: "All logic is based on a pool of emotion." Then came a short tale told by my daughter, a first grade teacher in a school not far from here. In going over the names of her new students before this school year began, she came across, not just the standard “Jane Smith 7 year old girl,” but one notation that described the student as “non-binary.” Even my daughter, with about 20 yrs. Of experience in the system was a bit shocked. Does a 7 year old describe themsels as non-binary? Where does that come from? In some kind of effort, one I consider misguided, the parents of this little girl, for so she is, are clearly, and rather consciously, brainwashing their daughter as regards what should be her sexual identity, and who knows what more. Yes, we are all brainwashed, without a doubt, but this is a severe, contrived form. Don’t you feel sorry for this girl? Let’s hope she doesn’t grow up confused, and when a bit older, confused about her feelings and those of others. That’s it on brainwashing. I wash my hands of it (clean hands, sullied brain is the usual phrase, right?). The next note appeared in the same paper as the letter about brainwashed public school students and is a source of amusement. It’s included here because it also deals with politically correct matter, like the non-binary first grader (who, one could easily argue, is truly non-binary based on the mostly asexual nature of first graders…so once again, I’m probably all wrong). The photo article was headlined “Man, two women engaged to marry” & showed one young man and two young women who are planning their threesome wedding (in Amsterdam. Is this acceptable there?). Yup, one wife isn’t enough for this guy. Every single one of you married men out there should see a lot of pain coming down the road for this shlemiehl. Yes, there have been societies in which polygamy was common practice and may have functioned well for those involved. Early Mormons, etc. Remember, however, that in these communities, women were subservient, they were used to, and comfortable with, taking orders from their husbands, and carrying them out. In this case, one of his proposed wives owns her business. Do you think she’s more used to taking or giving orders? The other wife is also a young, modern (judging from her nifty green hair) woman. We’ve recently talked about love, haven’t we? Yes. Well, to paraphrase a Randy Newman verse (“I Know What Love Is”) this guy, who claims to love both these two women (perfectly believable and understandable) is going to learn what love is.

After we cover brain washing, presumably later this week, a further topic will be the pipe hobby's generation gap. Subscription is cost free.

The latest postings include an unsmoked Mastro de Paja with a Calabash-like shape, a Savinelli Autograph 0 (used priced to sell) and a Jacono Queen, likewise well priced, all on the Italian page.

Remember: "We are all bozos on this bus."

A riff on the above quote came in today from a friend: Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves for we shall never cease to be amused.

It is time for me to begin wrapping up theRolando Negoita project on this site. Thus, I will be reducing the price of the pipes on theSpecials page by degrees, until they are all gone. We have reached phase 8 of the discounts and all pipes that were donated for Rolando will be reduced by 35%. The next reduction commences Aug. 20th, and will make the discount 37.5%. Check out the Specials page.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:The ability of so many people to live comfortably with the idea of capital punishment is perhaps a clue to how so many Europeans were able to live with the idea of the Holocaust: Once you accept the notion that the state has the right to kill someone and the right to define what is a capital crime, aren't you halfway there? -Roger Ebert, film-critic (18 Jun 1942-2013)

I finally got to post pipe # 4 in my Human Folly-HumanTragedy series, which I am doing in collaboration with pipe maker Don Gillmore. This pipe is The Children's Crusade, representing all the centuries children have been abused physically and emotionally, creating a foundation for a screwed up next generation.On the front of the pipe's bowl is anetched Knight's Templar Cross. Somehow I jumped over pipe #3 in theSeries. The pipe, a volcano representingthe folly of building a city under a regularlyspewing Vesuvius, is in stock and only needs to be posted. I'll do that soon.# 3 in the Human Folly/Human Tragedy series isnow posted. If you think that building a cityunder a live volcano, as the citizens of Pompeiidid, consider how much we've learned as aspecies, with California, a state of over 30million inhabitants, doing nothing but buildingskyscrapers in cities like San Francisco, Oaklandand Los Angeles over huge fault lines. Brilliant.

Don't forget to see the Original Sin Appleon the Human Folly page. It's called"Paradise Lost" & it's the first pipe in ourground breaking series that points a shaming finger at instances of thoughtless human folly that inevitably led to human tragedy. That first five sold out quickly, and the 2nd group, three of them, have just arrived. If you want one, please let me know now as it will be awhile before any others are produced.We now are also showing pipe #2 in our HumanFolly Series, The Helen of Troy, a Yachtsman(what else) to symbolize "the face that launched athousand ships" and provoked a 10 year war that culminated in a demolished great city state. Also on the Specials page is pipe # 4, TheChildren's Crusade, a reminder of the way weabuse kids physically and emotionally, assuringa screwed up next generation. The shape is anAcorn of sorts, but the defining detail is theCross etched on the front of the bowl. Pipe # 3 in the series is ready to post, too. It isa Volcano, which might help you remember Mt.Vesuvius and the devastation it did to the com-munity that oh so wisely decided to camp andbuild at the bottom of a deadly, active volcano.

It is horrifying that we have to fight ourown government to save the environment. Ansel Adams, photographer (20 Feb 1902-1984)

Philanthropy is the refuge of rich people who wish to annoy their fellow creatures.Oscar Wilde

All are lunatics, but he who can analyze hisdelusions is called a philosopher.Ambrose Bierce

If you wish to understand a philosopher, do not ask what he says, but find out what he wants.Friedrich William Nietzsche

Philosophy, n. A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing.Ambrose Bierce

Those who lack the courage will always find aphilosophy to justify it.Albert Camus